Wood is commonly used for framing artwork, photographs, plaques, clocks and other decorative items. Sometimes the wood is sanded and stained to provide a smooth finish with a high gloss. Some people prefer to sand the wood to make it smooth and then paint it.
A particularly attractive type of wood for use in artwork or in frames around artwork, photographs, clocks, etc. is driftwood. This type of wood is very attractive because it has been naturally weathered by the environment. When wood is weathered naturally it takes on a grooved or roughened appearance. This is because the wood includes rings or sections which are of different hardness which are weathered at different rates upon exposure to the environment. The naturally occurring rings in the wood alternate between relatively hard (resulting from the cold season) and relatively soft (resulting from the warm season). During natural weathering, the soft rings are eroded away at a faster rate than the hard rings. As a result, the hard rings form ridges and the softer rings are weathered to leave grooves or depressions between the hard rings.
Because the supply of naturally occurring driftwood is limited, it would be advantageous to have a technique for modifying ordinary wood to simulate the appearance of driftwood. Some have tried using the technique of sandblasting ordinary wood to modify its appearance. However, the result is not entirely satisfactory because the sand tends to wear away the wood in a manner such that both the hard rings and soft rings are worn down. Although a rough surface remains, it does not simulate driftwood in appearance. The sand tends to pit the wood and that is undesirable.